This Issue: AWARD WINNERS The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi distributed $500,500 to 270 worthy applicants this year. Judges selected them from 1,654 submissions in six categories. The awards edition compiles and congratulates these standouts.

Photo courtesy of Texas Woman’s University,
photographer Ronda DuTeil

On the Cover:

Fellowship winner Sarah Elizabeth Adams is concentrating in neuroscience and pharmacology as a Ph. D. student
in biomedical sciences at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an undergraduate, she majored in biology
and chemistry at Texas Woman’s University, served as a student vice president of its Phi Kappa Phi chapter, and
earned a 2008 Emerging Scholar Award from the Society.

The theme will be “Good News, Bad News.” Potential
topics for the spring 2013 edition include attempts
to revive dying languages; benefits and drawbacks of
“publish or perish” for humanities professors; cognitive
loss and dementia in baby boomers; American women’s
ambivalence about workplace success; and reaches and
limits of how the human brain processes things.

Poetry Contest for Active Members

Phi Kappa Phi Forum seeks original, previously unpublished poetry from active Society members for its spring 2013 edition. The poetry contest is
open only to active Society members, published or unpublished. Submissions — one per entrant per issue — should be up to 40 lines long and
must reflect the theme of the edition: “Good News, Bad News.” One poem is selected for the printed version. Runners-up may appear online. Entry
deadline is midnight, Dec. 2, only by email at poetry@phikappaphi.org. For complete rules and details, go online to www.phikappaphi.org/poetry.

About the AwardsWhen asked on a question- naire for their role model, most winners of 2012awards from The Honor Society ofPhi Kappa Phi list an immediatefamily member. “My mother,”praises Study Abroad Grant recipi-ent Rosana Garcia, because of her“independence, strength, and posi-tivity.” Fellowship awardee DonaldMiller applauds his father, “thehardest-working man I know.”When queried about a satisfyingcommunity service, winners cite ex-amples of good work in the U.S.and abroad. Stephanie D. Freis, whoearned a Fellowship, mentionsCamp Erin, which provides grievingchildren a weekend retreat at sitesacross the country. Chris Morrow,who garnered a Study AbroadGrant, recalls building a water filtra-tion system in a Nicaraguan village.

Wow! Could there be a greater
tribute to one’s heritage and upbringing than recognizing the
constructive impact of relatives? I
don’t think so. Could you find an
amassment of giving back as wide-ranging and far-reaching anywhere
else? You’d be hard-pressed.

Honoring excellence is a main
reason why Phi Kappa Phi funds
hundreds of thousands of dollars in
various categories of competition —
$500,500 this year and $1 million
over the biennium. Honoring excellence is also why there’s an annual
awards edition of this magazine —
commending 270 well-deserving
beneficiaries of the Society’s generosity this year.

These individuals are winners in
the truest sense, in academia and beyond. They demonstrate superior
abilities in scholarship, leadership,
and outreach. They embody discernment, perseverance, and selflessness.
And they utilize thoughtfulness, objectivity, and passion.

The Society, through you, itsmembers, also espouses these quali-ties and embraces such achievements.

We must continue on this path to
remain and become even more of a
worthwhile influence in higher education, plus our larger communities,
America, and the world. It behooves
us to serve the Society and humanity through excellence in all that we
do.